June and July are historically lackluster months for stocks, but with the Dow posting its best June since 1938, July may have the potential to buck the trend too. Yahoo Finance's Seana Smith and managing editor of ETF.com, Cinthia Murphy discuss.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that the Fed is “insulated” from short-term political pressure, warning that huge policy mistakes can happen when the Fed is influenced by the White House. Yahoo Finance's Brian Cheung joins Seana Smith on 'The Ticker' to discuss Powell's speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Defensive sectors have taken a decisive leadership role in recent weeks, but individual investors are looking to buck market trends, buying up shares of companies in more cyclical sectors like materials, consumer discretionary and financials

Coming off a rough August in which the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY ) finished lower, there may not be any rest for the weary in September because the ninth month of the year is historically rough on stocks. ...

August starts today and with the arrival of the eighth month of the year comes a month that's usually negative for stocks, but not by much. Over the past two decades, the S&P 500 posts an average August ...

Shares of containerboard companies fell Monday, after KeyBanc Capital analyst Adam Josephson turned bearish on several companies in the sector, as industry fundamentals continue to deteriorate. Shares of WestRock Co. fell 2.7%, Sealed Air Corp. shed 2.2%, Packaging Corp. of America slumped 2.2% and International Paper Co. slid 1.0%. The stocks were the four-biggest decliners within the SPDR Materials Select Sector ETF , which edged up 0.1%. Josephson cut his ratings on all four companies to underweight from sector weight. Although containerboard fundamentals are "worse now than in recent years," Josephson said valuations are now lower than in line with historical averages. That suggests consensus estimates for the companies have further room to fall, which suggests the stocks are more likely to underperform over the next 9 to 12 months. The stocks' selloff comes as the materials ETF has climbed 15.7% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 20.1%.

Shares of Omnova Solutions Inc. soared 55% to pace all premarket gainers Wednesday, after the specialty chemicals company announced overnight a deal to be acquired by U.K.-based Synthomer PLC in a deal that values Omnova at $455.2 million. The rally puts Omnova's stock on track to open at the highest level seen during regular-session hours since September 2018. Under terms of the deal, Omnova shareholders will receive $10.15 in cash for each Omnova share they own, representing a 58% premium to Tuesday's closing price of $6.42. The deal is expected to close in late 2019 or early 2020. Separately, Omnova reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and sales that missed FactSet consensus estimates, citing challenging economic conditions and volatile markets. Omnova's stock has dropped 12.4% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR Materials Select Sector ETF has climbed 16.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has advanced 14.8%.

Historically, June is unkind to stocks, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average just posted its best June showing since 1938. July is here and with that comes the arrival of another month is usually rough ...

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. dropped 4.8% in morning trading Monday, after the metals miner lowered its second-quarter outlook given the drop in average copper prices during the quarter. The company said copper prices averaged $2.77 per pound on the London Metal Exchange during the second quarter, compared with the average price of $2.94 a pound recorded at the end of the first quarter. The metals miner expects the impact of lower copper prices to lower second-quarter revenue by about $85 million. The company said current analyst estimates reflect an average copper price of about $2.95 a pound. As a result, Freeport-McMoRan said it estimates the impact on second-quarter revenue of lower copper prices, including adjustments for provisionally priced sales recorded at March 31, to be about $260 million. The company said it expects to record a loss of 5 cents a share to net income as a result of the estimated prices. Freeport-McMoRan's stock has shed 15.7% over the past three months through Friday, while the SPDR Materials Select Sector ETF has gained 4.2% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 3.8%.

There are 11 sectors represented in the S&P 500 with weights ranging from 2.81% at the bottom to 21.45% at the top. Guess which group resides at the bottom? Materials.That is not the only point underscoring the materials sector's diminutive status. The Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLB), the largest materials exchange-traded fund, holds just 28 stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is home to just one materials stock -- Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW).XLB "seeks to provide precise exposure to companies in the chemical, construction material, containers and packaging, metals and mining, and paper and forest products industries," according to State Street.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsSize aside, there are plenty of opportunities to be had with materials ETFs and investors may want to consider getting in while the getting is good because the sector is on fire in the first half of June."In fact, the materials group, the sector that tends to be the most sensitive to global economic growth expectations, is on track for its best monthly gain since October of 2015, when it soared 13.45%, according to Dow Jones Market Data," reports MarketWatch. * 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today For investors looking to embrace a small sector with big potential, here are some materials ETFs to consider. VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ)Source: Shutterstock Expense Ratio: 0.53%, or $53 annually per $10,000 investedThe VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDXJ) is one of the largest gold miners funds, meaning it is also a materials ETF and a volatile one at that. GDXJ has a three-year standard deviation of 30.50%, roughly triple the comparable metric on the S&P 500. Indeed, this materials ETF is not for the faint of heart and it has a tendency to overshoot gold's price action in either direction.Fortunately, the current climate sets up well for gold, as highlighted by GDXJ's month-to-date gain of nearly 9%."If you look at the GDXJ [VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF] and go back to 2010, the adjusted return in Canadian dollars is down about 85%. Then if you look deeper … at the really junior juniors, which aren't even in these ETFs, it's even more so. We have an industry where you've lost 80% to 90% of the value -- plus," said Jonathan Goodman, executive chairman of Dundee Corp., in an interview with Kitco News.Another catalyst could boost this materials ETF in the second half of the 2019: the Federal Reserve. If the Fed lowers interest rates, gold almost certainly rallies in response, likely sending GDXJ and miners ETFs higher along the way. Invesco MSCI Global Timber ETF (CUT)Source: Shutterstock Expense Ratio: 0.55%Among materials ETFs, timber funds -- all two of them -- often go overlooked. The Invesco MSCI Global Timber ETF (NYSEARCA:CUT), which tracks the MSCI ACWI IMI Timber Select Capped Index, gives investors nuanced materials exposure with a decent yield.CUT's underlying index "measures the performance of securities engaged in the ownership and management of forests, timberlands and production of products using timber as raw materials," according to Invesco.CUT holds 77 stocks, giving it a significantly larger roster than many traditional materials ETFs and some of that size is attributable to the fund being a global materials ETF. Eleven countries are represented in this materials ETF with the U.S. commanding a weight of 42%. Of the other 10 countries found in this materials ETF, eight are developed markets. * The 10 Best Index Funds to Buy and Hold Nearly 56% of CUT's components are classified as value stocks and the materials ETF reflects that value proposition with a price-to-earnings ratio of just 12.82x, a healthy discount relative to broader domestic equity benchmarks. SPDR S&P Mining & Materials ETF (XME)Source: Shutterstock Expense Ratio: 0.35%The SPDR S&P Mining & Materials ETF (NYSEARCA:XME) is an equal-weight materials ETF with diverse exposure to miners of several industrial and precious metals.XME's underlying index provides exposure to "the following sub-industries: Aluminum, Coal & Consumable Fuels, Copper, Diversified Metals & Mining, Gold, Precious Metals & Minerals, Silver, and Steel," according to State Street.In other words, XME is exactly the type of fund that can be stung by tariffs. That is exactly what has happened to this materials ETF. XME is down 11.41% in the second quarter and resides more than 31% below its 52-week high, putting the fund deeply into a bear market.XME is also volatile as far as materials ETFs are concerned. Over the past three years, XME's annualized volatility is 26.20% compared to 15.60% for the aforementioned XLB. Problem is, XME often does not justify that increased volatility because it can trail traditional materials ETFs by wide margins.As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 4 Top American Penny Pot Stocks (Buy Before June 21) * The 7 Best Tech Stocks to Buy for the Second Half of 2019 * 7 Top-Rated Biotech Stocks to Invest In Today * 4 Semiconductor Stocks to Sell Compare Brokers The post 3 Materials ETFs to Help Build Your Portfolio appeared first on InvestorPlace.